Report: Water Prices Rise Sharply Across America; Double and Triple in Some Locales

It’s often overlooked and taken for granted, but it’s the most essential of all human resources.

Water.

We’re paying 75% more for it today than we were in the year 2000.

According to a recent study by USA Today, which looked at 100 large municipalities across the country, the price increases over the last decade are so significant that many Americans are having to cut other expenses just to keep up:

…the cost of this necessity of life has outpaced the percentage increases of some of these other utilities, carving a larger slice of household budgets in the process.

“I don’t know how they expect people to keep paying more for water with the cost of gas and day care and everything else going up,” complains Jacquelyn Moncrief, 60, a Philadelphia homeowner who says the price hikes would force her to make food-or-water decisions. She gathered signatures on a petition opposing a proposed water rate increase in her city this year.

USA Today’s study of residential water rates over the past 12 years for large and small water agencies nationwide found that monthly costs doubled for more in 29 localities. The unique look at costs for a diverse mix of water suppliers representing every state and Washington, D.C. found that a resource long taken for granted will continue to become more costly for millions of Americans. Indeed, rates haven’t crested yet because huge costs to upgrade or repair pipes, reservoirs and treatment plants loom nationwide.

In three municipalities — Atlanta, San Francisco and Wilmington, Del. — water costs tripled or more.

According to the report, we can expect rates to continue to rise at a whopping 5% to 15% per year going forward, and for a variety of reasons.

The trend toward higher bills is being driven by:

– The cost of paying off the debt on bonds municipalities issue to fund expensive repairs or upgrades on aging water systems.

– Increases in the cost of electricity, chemicals and fuel used to supply and treat water.

– Compliance with federal government clean-water mandates.

– Rising pension and health care costs for water agency workers.

– Increased security safeguards for water systems since the 9/11 terror attacks

One critical aspect USA Today failed to mention as a reason for higher prices and the adverse effects on our purchasing power is, of course, monetary expansion over this same time period. While water prices are up in the high double digits over the last decade, the same cannot be said for Americans’ wages.

Taking that into consideration, we may well see rates go even higher than estimated.

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well simple solution to this problem is pay mr strong a visit an give him a deal he cant refuse? its coming down to that..thanks to mr strong’s greed…so ask him the question..is it worth it? how lucky do you feel today?

I’m curious about your comment about collection of rainwater being criminalized. I live in Florida and we are urged to add rainwater barrels on our properties. Can you be specific about where this is a criminal activity?

That’s based on one case out West where a guy was damming a stream and using the water. His defense was that he was just collecting rainwater. Thin defense. Since so much of the West depends on mountain snowmelt, unauthorized damming of any stream is pretty much a capital offense out there, and has been for 100 years or more. Water is “shared out” according to longstanding contract and title law. (When you buy property, you have to make sure that you have “water rights”. This even includes drilling of wells!) The guy was violating those laws.

I like to kid my Idaho friends by pointing out that, where I live, water is just a damned nuisance, and we have to pay good money to get rid of it.

Living out West gives you a fast and hard appreciation for how precious and fought-over water is.

For the past 150+ years, people have fought and died over water rights out here. Not so much in my neck of the woods (Pacific Northwest) where rainfall is way above average, but certainly everywhere else west of the Mississippi, and definitely in the Rocky Mountains.

When you buy land out here, water rights often do not come with it – you have to either buy that separately, or pay a premium to have it included in your deed.

Personally, post-collapse? I can see folks out west fighting over water just as much as over food. I can see some jackass damming the river upstream and charging folks downstream a premium to use whatever he decides to let flow past that dam. I can see a whole lot of bad mojo going down just over water.

Will it cause a SHTF or collapse in and of itself? Not real certain, unless there were a decades-long global drought or somesuch. On the other hand, it, along with the cost of other basics, does point out that things are going to get ugly from here on in…

Out here where I live it was very popular in the past to have a well drilled in your basement. There are many of these wells still around and no permits for them so the state dosent even know they exist.
I saw a company on the internet about 10 years ago that sold the drill rigs but they disapeared. I thought they were out of business but I heard form someone a year ago they are still in business somewhere.
There is a company that sells small drills you can use outside called deeprock.http://www.deeprock.com/HD/Default.aspx

aye to that, some countries have outright outlawed wells, such as Germany. In California, if I understand it correctly, water rights can no longer be transferred when you purchase a home (I could be wrong about this).

They want it all!

Curiously, beneath Paraguay and portions of Argentina is one of the largest aquifers in the world… from what I understand some key global political and financial figures have been buying up tens of thousands of acres of land in the region…

They won’t let you have it (see rainwater harvesting regulations throughout many states in America), but they’ll buy it for themselves and hoard it…

You are right, California is awful, farms that have been in family’s for year have had to install meters, even if they have their own wells. As for the price increase in the year 2000 water for the month was $68. Now I pay $135. Who was it that said control the food you control the people, I think it’s been expanded to water as well. No pun intended!

The international criminal Bush cartel own thousands of acres in Paraguay. I suppose since they have no extradition for “political reasons” that makes it quite convenient for them if things take a wrong turn.

hammerhead..I read the most outrageous thing last year.
That the Great Lakes were being drained?? And that barges from China were stealing the water? Using those barge-size water bladders, I guess pushed by tugs?
part of this included a video of a female whistleblower telling this story.
Verified?? Nope, but she said the lake had dropped several feet??

JayJay: Total BS. Besides when China finally gets “thirsty”, they will invade Siberia for Lake Baikal: the best fresh water in the world in a lake that is 400 miles long, 1 mile deep, and crystal clear (except for a little sawdust from a pulp factory).

That’s a “no-brainer”.

Trust me, there is no comparison between the water quality of say, Lake Michigan, and Lake Baikal.

And then there is the distance ….. “All Voices” must be mostly in their head. Probably picking up both AM and FM through their dental fillings.

In San Joaquin Valley (California) they either have or are in the process of taxing wells, because the groundwater is drying up. As you may or may not know, the Valley produces the majority of produce for the state (and around the country) so there are a lot of farmers that are upset and wondering how the government can do this.

Throught all of California you have to get a permit to dig a well but once you dig it, it’s yours and the water is yours. Also, for those who have irrigation canal rights (NID, PCWA etc.), those can be transferred upon the sale of the property. It’s just the miners inches that are not guaranteed.

Up until now, I had never heard that people could not transfer water rights – mineral rights, yes (gold and silver mining rights). Riparian rights are one of the oldest rights (first in time first in right) and such can be transferred with property. I will have to research this further, because it is news to me. I am wondering if you are speaking of digging a well in an area that is already serviced by a municipality. Then I have heard they will not let you dig a well.

I’m assuming you mean for the wells that are east of the Cascades, correct? It wouldn’t do them much good to try that here in the western part, since we’re too busy fending off annual floods and suchlike 🙂

I suspect we’ll get a good indication that things are rumbling downhill hard when such ‘czars’ won’t go out w/o police escort, especially after a couple of them turn up missing after leaving to make the rounds…

A must read ” Every drop for Sale” author Jeffrey Rothfelder. Sorry all I havent been participating in the recent discussions. Its been crazy in this neck of the woods. With Godspeed, prep while we still can, and stay alert.

They don’t need a meter — they can issue yearly permits for residents to operate a well. Our well is stand-alone but this County forces permits for vehicles, dogs, cats, businesses, business equipment, etc. Then there are the temporary permits for construction, septic, well drilling, etc.

Give it time and there will be a fee added somewhere. the beast stays hungry.

…not enough cops to go around. Departments strapped for cash are going to have a much harder time going around enforcing permits and suchlike, let alone checking to see if someone dug a secret water well and piped it to a basement cistern.

Even in counties with 2-25 people/sq.mile, there simply aren’t enough police/sheriff/state-troopers to go around – let alone LA County, CA, which has damned near 7,000 people/sq.mile.

Perfect Example? Josephine County, Oregon (Grants Pass is located here). No funding for jack, the state troopers are having to handle all the police-work and emergency response, and there’s no funding for anything better right now. They don’t have enough money to keep themselves afloat, let alone to hire people to stomp around and pester property owners for well permits.

If TPTB want you cut off from water sources other than the ones they pollute with chemicals via municipal treatment plants; they will do it, most likely the way they make you pay for building permits and such. No permits with paid fees, NO electricity. Yea, TPTB own and control the Electric utility companys. They can have you shut off in a NY minute.

If you have a backup power system with a counter-top distiller, you can survive. You may have to catch rainwater for bathing or go to a nearby stream/river/pond, but you can survive.

In “my neck of the woods”, we have wells and septic systems. Once they are permitted, built/dug, you own them, right?
The state instituted a “Flush Tax” (that’s what it is called), and adds this fee to our property tax bill.
Get this. It for a pool of money to rebuild aging waste treatment plants. We don’t use WTPs, and a properly maintained septic system is enviromentally sound. I don’t get this one. Pure money grab, IMO.
Don’t want to give them ideas, but next will be an annual “well fee”.
It never ends.

Odd Questioner — Of course all of this over-regulation is flawed. It makes no sense to us but they haven’t figured most of that out yet. lol These little governments force others to do their work, though. Here’s a few examples: Google’s sat images are used by many counties to check for outbuildings on property, veterinarians are used as an info collection point for non-licensed dogs and cats.

And don’t forget, not all towns and counties are going under. Unemployment is not consistent across the US, neither are tax revenues. Yet.

Don’t Tread, this is why each of us need back-up systems, even if they’re reduced to minimal systems. Each of us needs to think about a grid-down/utility-down environment.

Beyond food and home protection, we’ve all got to have the means to obtain and purify water. And having the ability to obtain or collect some form of energy would be highly desirable. If any of us lose our ability to get water from our current source, we can use our water supply — but when it’s depleted, what’s next? With our electricity, if the grid is down, most people must do without. Think of the What If scenario where the grid is destroyed or intentionally turned off for 30 days. Or longer. What would you do? Do you have a back up energy source? Some people have generators but they’re only as good as the gas supply that’s stored. Some people have small solar systems but to use them, the household will need to accommodate those systems for it’s reduced capacity. Solar systems don’t retrofit into the American home or lifestyle very well — solar forces people to adapt. Who among us is prepared with some form of alt energy? It would be handy to have a few lights, a fan, or a tool if the grid is down, but most of us would be forced to do without.

Rick, Don’t you feel better knowing that you are sharing-the-wealth for the, um, common good??? I mean, if it wasn’t for your forced-contribution, those people might be lying in wretched filth. It seems fitting, though, that Communism extends to wastewater.

I would think that the easiest way for the city/county to enforce the metering of wells would be to simply see what addresses do not have city supplied water. If someone does not have a city water supply they more than likely must have a well. So if possible anyone with a well that doesnt want to be metered(all of them) could possibly have the city connect them to the water supply. In my area this costs $400 dollars. That is not cheap but in my opinion it is worth it to keep the water rent a cops out of my business. My home has a well and a municipal supply, which I kind of like, we use the well water for bathing, dishes and drinking and use the city water for filling pools or washing cars etc. That keeps us from potentially running our well low in the summer. Just a thought. Does anyone see any issues with this that I am not thinking about?

Theres not enough of us to do that yet. All it will get you is arrested and you will be the laughing stock of the your city. If you don’t believe it take your own advice. I like your heart but the numbers just arent there.

I am moving from a place with town water to an old house in the country with a well. The town water goes up every year, as does the property tax. You can’t afford to own a house any more unless you have a good job. Local, state and Federal governments are parasites who are in the process of draining the host.

Exactly!! In a normal family, you figure out how much money you will have coming in for the month, and that is what you can spend, not a penny more. In gov’t, they figure out how much they want to spend, then send us the bill. If it goes up 50% from one year to the next, too effin’ bad, you pay the bill or they take your house and you’re out on the street without even a good-bye. Bunch of parasitic maggots……

Put in a 75 gallon rain barrel last year that is filled from a gutter system. It stayed at least half full last summer. Tended to be empty this summer due to drought. Filtration systems to make this water potable (it probably would be, anyway) are not too expensive. The lesson from this dry summer is that I need to rig up a second barrel. These should be on sale this time of year.

I expect water prices to continue to rise. This is at least partially a tax on a necessity.

A few years ago I bought a underground plastic sphere cistern online for $695. I think the place is plasticmart.com. It holds 550 gallons and because it is a sphere shape it wont collapse if I run it dry. I borrowed my neighbors mini excavator but it probably could have been dug by hand if you had some help. I ran my down spouts into it and have an overflow for when it is full. This summer I ran it dry a couple of times and if not for some timely rain I could have lost my garden. I am trying to save enough money now to buy another one and connect it to the overflow of this one kind of in a series. I like the fact that it is underground because it is out of site(it just looks like a septic tank lid to most people). Another thing that is nice about it being underground is that it keeps the water cooler and cooler water doesnt grow bacteria as fast as warm water.

Our town charges you for the water and then doubles it for the sewer. Then they add in storm drain fees and surcharges. The water is mud red and not fit to drink. Next year they are planning on borrowing 8 million $$$ to replace the 100 year old water lines. The water is already more expensive than the electricity. I can’t wait till we have to pay for the new lines.

Greed and the fact that we know you need water and you can bitch and whine all you want but your gonna pay whatever we tell you to pay so shut up and get your checkbook out.

I am glad I am on a well, especially near Lake Michigan. It is a big selling point near the city if your community has lake water. I’ll keep my fluoride-free well thank you and the shines in the city can keep shooting each other to pieces.

Tuesday, Many regions only allow well drilling by licensed drillers — for a reason. Those businesses are regulated and can only operate when drilling on land that has been permitted to have a well dug. To get a permit, the landowner and property usually need to fulfill certain criteria. Everything is regulated for tight control. Of course, you could dig your own shallow well but if you were to hire a driller, they’d not do the job without a permit. Well, unless they’re hungry, they wouldn’t.

Around here, you can’t build a residence on less than 5 acres in the rural/ag zones in many areas in the eastern US. Generally speaking, there are no separate ‘water rights’ issues in the east, that’s more prevalent in the west.

While it is unusual to have water rights deeded here in the east, I do have it on my deed for a gravity flow spring water system. I’m looking for the EPA to eventually try to outlaw systems like this for “health” reasons.

I was wondering the other day, while passing by houses with people mowing/fertilizing/landscaping their lawns, WTF is wrong with people? They spend all this money on making their property look nicer/prettier/fancier than Joe Blow’s down the street, and then bitch like a banshee when they receive their hiked up property tax bill.

I think it would be interesting and mind boggling to know what American’s pay for water just to water their lawns in a years time. The amount they pay out for mowing/landscaping probably can’t even be calculated with accuracy, it is so outrageous.

I looked up a little info.
Lawns use 45-66 inches of water per year per acre based on a report from California.
Corn uses 32 inches/growing season, estimated. I wasn’t able to find information for other crops but I think many of them are less needy of water than corn.

Clearly we need to be planting crops in our front yards instead of grass. Too bad our cities are so militant against this option.

Municipal Water – sewer departments are a usualplace for the PTB stash their idiot relatives. They also have blank purchase orders so all the ‘good old boys’, can have a taste of taxpayers money.
(See Ontario , CAlif, for further details.

Those of you with water wells need to have them tested/monitored if they have been doing any amount of fracking for natural gas in your area. The status of water wells in my area are changing dramatically. Of course it’s not their fault…

I’m by no means a geologist, but I’m guessing that when that layers of shale is separated under pressure of chemicals it can both pollute and alter or impede the underground water table; or so it appears.

Move to the country like I did thirty years ago. I have two water wells and a septic tank system, independent from any town. When the bottom falls out at least I will have plenty of good water and a toilet that works. Living in a rural location is great, just ask those living in cities and town with their high property taxes, stupid municipal laws, rules,and all the other crap they put up with.

I live in an area blessed with water. Heck, the phone book for part of my county is called the seven rivers area. Withen 60 miles of my house, thier are at least 7 large TVA lakes. My water bill and sewer bill combined for a family of 4 plus a swimming pool was 45.00. The water company for my city is actually a privately owned entity. Tennessee is also an anti-union state so labor cost isn’t as high such as pension payments.
So if you are looking for a state to move to an area that has plenty of water,good growing seasons,and is fairly gun freindll with decent weather take a look at East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, or Western North Carolina.

Vivendi Water, Suez, Thames, are all notorious for padlocking wells in the developing world when the get the government contract to manage “water resources”. Probably wise to have an off the books well – get do know you driller.

In some areas of the US even collecting rain water from your gutters is regulated.

In Florida most of the spring waters are being taken by multi-national corporations to bottle up and then sell to the public for obscene prices. They pay little or nothing to rob these resources. This is what you get from this GOP run into the ground state government. Prior to the past couple decades, Florida had been Democrat controlled for 100 years, and still has a democrat majority. These GOPukes want dictatorial control here. Prick Scott is a Medicare thief, yet won the race for governor. Yet he pales in comparison to that evil nazi Jeb Bush.

If this is true, why are all the worst run states (CA, NY, etc.) controlled and run by the democrits? CA is in the toilet because of a democrit legislature which has held control for decades. NY is the same. I sincerely doubt the GOP is trying to control the water in FL….that sounds more like a Soros or Gore move to me…

Look at OR for example. The dems control the state and a person cannot even store the rainwater that falls on their own property. Big Gov = Big Brother = Democrits every time.

We blame each other. We let them divide us. Here on this site we are no better. I loose alot of hope for many. We stay divided. We agree that division is not the way and they are dividing us. We say it is all goverment then we go back to blaming sides. Everyone wants to blame the other side. It is time we blame ourselves because we who say we are awake, how awake are we if we repeat the same shit over and over. We move past it for a brief moment then right back to it like a dog chewing a bone. Hope is lost in the human race, specialy if we consider ourselves the hope that is left. We will just cycle thru and return to the same shit that got us here. No one cares about anyone but themselves, and those of us who do care about others and see this problem we are a very small minority since the awake world is already small what 3% you all say? That would make us who are past the divided part about .001% of 3%, we are fucked. Lets use this post as a poll 🙂 All who think we need to stop being divided put a thumbs up. All who still think it is all the other sides fault put a thumbs down. Let your vote show who is awake and who still sleeps.

We are human. We have inate traits. I believe people are, like all life forms, clannish.
Self, family,community,city, state, country,planet.
If we are invaded by aliens ( space type, not…), I’m sure all races and nations would come together to fight. And when the aliens are gone, we’ll be back to fighting each other.
We fight for survival, resources, pride, religion,and a hundred other reasons. We fight because we KNOW our way is the RIGHT way. And the other side are idiots. And we shoudnn’t have to be subjected to their moronic stupidity. (you fill in the blanks, as to which side, it doesn’t matter).
It is a trait of living organisms. Survival of the fittest?
Then there are those among us that would have us suppress these emotions and traits that evolution gave us for survival. “We are better than common animals”.
Your first responsibility is to yourself and your family. Learn to SUPPORT yourself first. Then, at least your not a burden. Then, make sure your family is supported and responsible. And teach your kids to be good and wothwhile citizens.
And birds of a feather, flock together.
And I’m labeled “snarky” and cold hearted.

Or maybe kum-bay-yah, and unicorns.And let’s throw everything into a pile, and split it “evenly”.
Some of you people won’t make it a week, SHTF.

That the same Jeb Bush who has an Hispanic wife, whose children identify as Hispanics and who is in favor of a relaxed immigration regime? That is what you call a Nazi?

If Florida is such a strong Democrat state, how is it that so many Republicans got elected there?

As for bottled water: rest easy. The push is on all over the country and the globe to ban it or tax it. Soon, there will be taxes on all water. You will be encouraged to not use as much. You can wash clothes less, not wash your electric car, shower less, drink less. You can use less ethanol, which takes a lot of water to produce, as well as fossil fuel. You can have less food which needs water to grow. You can have less meat, fewer pets. The landscape trees in your cities will have to be desert varieties. The rich will not be allowed to have fresh water swimming pools. Neither will the resorts, so Florida will see less tourism. Of course, there will be fewer jobs in the bottling industry, the ag industry and tourism.

But, you will be happy, because those evil foreign, Republican-supported capitalists will no longer be able to bottle your precious Florida water.

Aljamo: I live in north central Florida so I get where you’re coming from but most of the idiots who gave you TD got shit for brains because they think that all Republicans are good and all Democrats are bad. Bunch of simple minded moron with meatlocker IQ’s. Gov. Rick the Prick Scott wants to privatize everything as payback to his supporters some of whom are under investigation for fraud and been run out of other states. Neither major party is to be trusted because they’re whores up for sale to the highest bidder. I’ll take a gun friendly southern Democrat over any Republican today, most of whom are now just RINOs. It won’t matter soon because as the breakdown and breakup continue politics will become very local.

it is not about shiney rainbows and unicorns. Rick
As you say ppl will not survive a week when shtf.
Honestly me the one speaking about unity and joining togeather will be alive. My family will be alive if I can help it. And I will strive to gather others and help them to help all of us. I have been in the shit storm of war. Not the bs they show you on tv and not the average troops policing actions either. I have survived in hostile places alone with nothing but my fire team to back me up. 6 of us. I also know without those other 5 I may not of fared so well. Will I survive? yes.
You want to know cold hearted, know those who make the decisions on the fly who should be put down because they may give your location away, be they combatants or not, then be the one to shoot them as they look at you and are begging for thier lives, not down the range, not thru a scope, face to face gun to forehead. I have been cold, numb, without feeling. I have this blood on my hands and soul. Will you who say your cold be cold enough? Will those who say they can kill, kill? Until you have killed other humans, don’t speak, you have no idea of what it is like to take human lives let alone 1 human life. It is about combined forces to win an objective. Not unicorns and kumbaya. That is for the after party 🙂

Anon; My post wasn’t meant to be personal. I like to write with sarcasm and hyberbole. Some folks don’t get it.
With that, I said ” some” people won’t survive.
Because they won’t be able to do the things needed in a life or death struggle. Sounds like you have. I’m not judging. Your still breathing. Good. And thanks for your service.
And as for me. Well we’ll see. Just know this; my glasses are not rose colored.

The city where I lived before had Smart Meters. The meters weren’t that smart though, because every 2 months I would recieve an obscenely large water bill. I called and discovered that the system “extrapolates” your “projected usage” instead of billing you for what you actually used. I raised hell about it and refused to pay. I went to my water meter and took photos which I emailed demanding to pay for only the water I used. I HAD BEEN OVERCHARGED BY $237!!!!! That is for 2 months usage.

Now, how many people do you think actually read the fine print on their bills and then spend hours dealing with bureaucrats to get it straightened out?

Extrapolate THAT – they are robbing citizens by $100 per month and most folks are just paying the bill. It’s a complete scam.

In a city of 2 million people, let’s say 4 people to a home. Multiply that number of homes by the $100 per month that they are just sticking on the bill to see if you notice – that is a BUTTLOAD of money they are scamming!

Daisy: WOW, that’s insane! Living in north Florida our local utility made a fuss a couple of years ago about water consumption so we all cut back in various ways. Well, their revenues fell so much that they then wanted an increase to offset their losses. Talk about stupidity, we all made such a ruckess at the meetings they dropped it. Utility companies need to be closely watched becasue they are a government authorized monopoly and are not to be trusted, ever. P.S. good for you, you’ve got brains and guts.

I find it is always good to ignore these “let’s you and him fight” kinda fellows. Unless they are actually leading, they are up to no good at all. …and even if they are leading, they may still not be up to any good. They strike me as shifty little weasels.

I haven’t noticed an increase yet. Here in middle Tennessee it has rained all night and is still raining. This summer, our water pressure was extremely low due to the drought. Who the hell waters their lawn? In Tucson my parents have some grass because they use water from the washing machine. The use of gray water is encouraged, they also have a huge rain barrel. Which is legal as long as it’s used outside.
The price of our incoming water is very low. It’s the outgoing waste water that costs so much.

Graduated Greenbrier–live in Springfield after that until 2007..moved to Russellville.
Never returning to Springfield for the reasons I left.
Hi, neighbor.
It’s nice to know there are actually 2 Tennessee preppers that get it.

So, now we have JL in Springfield, Machinist in Clarksville, and jayjay in russellville, originally from Springfield..let’s get together??
I’m ’68 graduate of Greenbrier, Gene is ’69 graduate of Springfield.
Nope, no children.judyh0603@logantele.com

Water is actually a natural resource that wars can start over. As Jayjay mentioned in the other article about Israel and the water from Lebanon as being a possible start up over the next Middle-East war. Israel is at about the same latitude as northern Mexico and souther california, as well as the same dryness level. The water that flows into the Dead Sea is widely disputed. Water is very limited on this planet as most of it is locked up in the ice caps, the ground, the atmosphere, and the most is salt water.

I recently read that san diego is buidling the largest desalination plant in the western hempishere and it is going to cost people a lot more for fresh water from it. To desalt water it takes a lot of energy, something that is expensive and growing more difficult to obtain. It is not just how much water a person drinks it is the washing process of themselves, dishes, clothes, and much more. The flushing of toilets and so much other water to maintain a home. People just expect the faucets to turn on no matter what. The cost must go up as energy costs go up. The more energy and effort to pump water the higher the cost.

Water is one of the main reasons that anyone considering a survival approach to what is coming MUST get out of the major urban areas. Unless someone is in a very wet location, big cities are total graveyards when the water goes dry. Energy and a functioning grid are necessary to pump water to homes and businesses, lose that grid for whatever reason you lose water. When you lose water, you lose a lot of lives within a few days. Water is probably one of the highest concerns on the preppers/surviorists lists.

When TSHTF, people are going to be fighting like hell over water and everything else needed to survive. it’s going to be horrific and tragic for so many. Anyone tries to take mine it’s going to cost them dearly. i work hard to get all my preps and there’s no way I’ve giving any of them up to anyone. Best wishes and keep prepping.

“You didn’t build that”.
Braveheart, Am I to understand you don’t intend to open your door and help your fellow, less fortunate, man?
WTF?
It’s not fair. You got. He don’t.
How can you look in the mirror?
Are you a white republican with a trust fund? Who’s dreams did you crush on your way to “prosperity”?
I just don’t see how we’re going to make it (the human race), with selfish people like you. Hoarder.
Just cause you “worked” for it, you think “it’s all yours”? you didn’t build that, got it?
Sheesh. some people.

And that’s why I am getting ready, in eight more days I’ll be gettin my Land Patent, with that at hand I will be able to do 150% more than those without it. From using all the water that I want to stopping any and all government agent from coming into my property 🙂

@ Ponce:
How did you go about getting your land out of the potential reach of future government commandeering? I would like to do what you have done, but I have no idea exactly what to do or how to go about it. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Water is already an issue here they shut off our irrigation early and locked all the head gates (which they have never done) usually they will do a couple of stock runs after they shut water off they will not be doing that this year. And our water bills are already rising. We are working on a wind mill to pump water out of the creek up to the house as long as the creek stays running.

Rising utility rates may not have anything to do with resource scarcity or supply and demand for that service, and may have everything to do with rising state and corporate debts from grossly incompetent money managers.

Last year, here in Florida, the road tolls increased and those increases were blamed on rising labor and material costs. The only problem was that the Florida department of highways invested millions of dollars into Greek sovereign bonds which failed spectacularly and now those costs are being passed on to unsuspecting Floridian motorists.

This issue was reported in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper but was never raised in public debates. Clearly Florida is not alone in making grossly incompetent investment decisions and forcing taxpayers to pay the price.

In this fake world of make believe, one must look at everything with a Jaundiced Eye and question everything. It’s a sad state of affairs.

Beinformed: You are so right, WATER, should be first on the list(after GOD). Just remember the 3’s– 3 min on air, 3 days on water, and 3wk’s on food, after anyone of those, game over.
GOD
WATER
FOOD
PROTECTION of all kind’s

My water bill is only about $15 per month. I think someone is being grossly overcharged. Anyway, I do have the equipment to put down my own well if necessary. All you need is a drive point, pipe cap, lengths of pipe, and a weight with handles to drop on the top of the pipe to drive it down. Oh, and a hand pump.

been on my homestead for 24 yrs…use rural water association..our bill has gone up from $8 a month for 2,000 gallons to $35 a month for the same amount of 2,000 gallons..here they charge you for a thousand gallons and if you go over that by 1 gallon then you are bumped up to paying for 2,000 gallons..and yeah, they put on those computerized meters two years ago…thankfully we are isolated rural and rain barrels are no one elses business. speaking of business, the price of rainbarrels is totally outrageous..

District down the road from me had a public hearing on its budget. In the next five years or less, they will have to sink a large amount of money into upgrading/replacing its water treatment plant and sewer system. Total cost will be in excess of $10-$15 million, requiring a 15% increase in property taxes if funding isn’t cut elsewhere in the budget.
BUT, because the water system isn’t broken ‘yet’, they decided to raise property taxes 15% in order to build a new park and some bike paths. Total bill for the park and bike paths: $10-$12 million.
The good folks are now on the hook for $20-$27 million in additional property taxes… in the middle of this economy. The arrogance and stupidity of politicians knows no bounds.

We need to watch what happen to the states that growing our Winter Wheat. They are plant now if they do not get enough rain this fall. We will see a bad spring harvest.
From what I have read in KS newspaper they are in trouble.

here in western north carolina, the city annexed further out and that included my property. This was about 10 years ago, the water bill includes a double charge if you are on city sewer, i have a septic, but the bill includes trash pick up ( by the way something every person should think about SHTF) they started out at $2.00 per month on trash its now $9.00 per month. They also charge a land fill tax ( the place where they haul your trash) the tax is $92.00 this year, to me thats double taxation. I own two lots next to each other thats $184.00, than to top it off if you haul a load yourself there is a scale fee, these greedy bastards will tax themselves into a vacant county, i hope.thats $200.00 per year plus the extra $92.00 for the other lot. This town also passed a clean property ordinance, made every one get rid of junk, stuff, things whatever, made to pay tax on all vehicles running or not, no tax than the vehicle had to go, than they increased all the property values and raised taxes, mine went up by $800.00, i have the bills , registered letters and increased morgtage (escrow) to prove all this bull shit. I am trying to sell so i can build a small self sufficient home, all this because of the banker backing butf&%kin politicians. …im going to need some vasaline if crap keeps up, my buts already sore, ..help …in WNC

The Tarheel is a very beautiful and unique state. There are lots of good people from Murphy(mtns.) to Manteo (sea). I’ve been to and had friends from one end to the other. Lived beside the great Pisgah National Forest(Haywood) for a year and loved it. My greater grandpappy owned 300 acres in what is now Smokey Mtns.National Park, when the park was established. He was paid $1.00 per acre for the land and was forced to leave years of hard work and homesteading behind for the”greater good”.

Sad to say, but the liberal politicians that govern the state, along with the corrupt “Power Company”, have put the average residents into hardship. Taxes and fees on everything have trickled down thru local governments until most of the middle class folks are paying out an average of $300.00 each month just for utilities/services/ property taxes. It’s no wonder there are houses and commercial properties sitting vacant, everywhere.

Only $300 a month??? I pay over that just for my property tax alone on a 2 bedroom, 1300 s.f. foot house with no garage in Maine, then another nearly $200 for electricity. NC sounds like a deal to me! I wouldn’t even have to get used to the liberal politicians, I have plenty of those here now!!

this is what happens when you get northeners and other elitist types from cali. moving into your state. they bring their nasty habits about libaries, paved roads, city services, and other nonsence with them and destroy a previously good place to live.

When we bought our property, after living in a village and moving into the countryside the gravity fed spring was what sealed the deal. No electricity needed to pump water and the best water you never tasted! Peace

our rual water systems water pressure has been spiking at night to levels that blow out the pressure regulators and T&P valves on water heater. We have switched over to the well that is run on solar,after reading this artical I think we will stay on our well system!

As someone who works in the business and has for many years I can tell you that 90 percent of the cost increase is due to federal regulation. Cities have enormous compliance costs for issues that are not problems for them. It doesn’t matter to the feds, if one city somewhere has a problem all the others have to spend money to “fix” it. People complain about the cost increases, I tell them to quit voting for people who enact more unneeded regs.

On the other hand, we still sell 750 gallons (100 cubic feet) of clean, safe, pure water for $1.50. That’s not too bad of deal.

Bill, I know you have a job to do and want to keep your paycheck coming, but don’t try to make us believe that all those chemicals added to the water makes it “clean,safe, and pure”. Municipal water has been linked to cancer and covered up many,many times.

The water from municipal water treatment plants is equivalent to “swimming pool water”. Yea, it’s probably safer than drinking from a creek,pond, or river; but, it definitely isn’t pure.

The only pure water comes from high mountain springs where there are no ways for runoff to get into the source. High sbove any residential areas, where it is forced to the surface from a deep aquifer.

Most wells have good water if they are deep enough and are in areas that haven’t been polluted.

I don’t have a problem bathing in “city” water, but I sure as hell ain’t gonna drink it, or use it in my cooking/canning.

Yup. In the seacoast area of New Hampshire, the fed gov’t is forcing every town around Great Bay to upgrade their sewer treatment plants, total cost of over a billion dollars!!! They are requiring the effluent discharge be nearly 100 times more pure than the bay it is going into. How is that for completely idiotic????? A-holes again!!!

We just had a new treatment plant put in our area. We used to get our water from a differnet town. OR bill went up so they could have funds avail to start it, my hubby worked there. you KNOW we will pay more upon completion as they will have a need for more money for some reason. Trying to get hubby to had drill a well. Our water table is high here so he will not need to go to far down. I know some people here that hit water around 50 feet but ut smells like sulphur and all their clothes are orange…yuck. They do not even drink it. I hope he can get sown deeeeeep! I have a pool fro back up but guess what…just got a leak and it is empty, figures. We are patching the darn think this weekend. Of course it rained like hell before we got it patched so now I will have a HUGE water bill….AARRRGH! But have almost everything that I need for my woodstove to go in. We need to move a front door and some wiring to get er in. HUbby is starting that this weekend too. I am very excited lower my electric bill for a few months anyway,, free up some money for other stuff….and even though money is very tight I am actually looking forward to the Holidays this year. Just feeling like I truely know what matters now.

In my locale, there was a big push to reduce the amount of water we use due to the drought. Everyone reduced their usage which in turned lowered the amount the water co received. Now they have raised rates to make up for the shortfall in revenues due to conservation.

This isn’t the first time this has happened either, yet everyone still conserves and then gets hit with a rate increase because they don’t have enough money now.

A few years ago our water company had asked for conservation during a drought. Our local reservoir for the city was significantly lower than usual. When the first huge storm was coming in, they dumped 5million cubic feet of water out of the reservoir because it wouldn’t be able to handle the quick increase in water volume that was expected from the downpours. The storm petered out long before it got to our area and we now had 5m ft^3 less of water available.

Buy coal washable filters for $45 and use two 5 gallon buckets. They are doing this because they know people know fluoride is in the city water. Thus they ship it all to China. Lake Michigan is drying up.

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